NFL Notes: Rams will rely on running game

Regardless of how quarterback Sam Bradford’s knee responds following an ACL tear and subsequent surgery during last season, the St. Louis Rams planned to lean heavily on their running game in 2014.

Second-year player Zac Stacy appears set for the top spot after leading the team in carries and yards as a rookie. The competition for his backup remains unsettled as the team closes in on the end of its second week of preseason training with an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

Stacy rushed 250 times for 937 yards in 2013, but the Rams struggled to find consistent balance between running and passing.

The Rams finished 19th in the league with 1,752 yards on 426 carries.

“We’re going to be a run-oriented football team,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “It’s hard to gauge where it is right now. I’ll have a better idea once we get into the preseason.”

The Rams used four running backs in 2013, the first without Steven Jackson.

Benny Cunningham, in his second year, and Isaiah Pead, in his third, return and are likely backups for Stacy. Tre Mason, taken in the third round of this year’s draft, is also in the mix for playing time. Daryl Richardson was waived and has since signed with the New York Jets.

Cunningham finished with 261 yards on 47 carries, and Pead got seven attempts for 21 yards. Mason is coming off a junior year at Auburn in which he totaled 1,816 yards on 317 carries.

COMMISH ON RISE: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell defended himself against criticism that he was too lenient in suspending Ray Rice two games.

“We just can’t make up the discipline,” Goodell said in Canton, Ohio. “It has to be consistent with other cases. And it was in this matter.”

Goodell stressed that the Ravens running back has assumed responsibility for his conduct, has no history of assault and is following a court order to enter a diversionary program following his domestic violence arrest.

“We’ve dealt with it in a serious manner, and we’re very confident that this young man understands where he is and what he needs to do going forward,” Goodell said.

EXTRA POINTS: The Steelers agreed kicker Shaun Suisham to a four-year contract extension that runs through the 2018 season. The 32-year-old will make $1.425 million this season. ... Redskins receiver Jerry Rice Jr. has a torn labrum in his left shoulder and will have surgery. The undrafted son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice played at UNLV.